The Favor
by Chibiaddicted
Summary: -AU- He saved her so she owed him. But to what extent would the emotionless Yakuza leader take her favor? -SakuraxGaara- Complete
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** A new Sakura story with a Yakuza/Gang theme. More dramatic and romantic than any story I've tried so far so wish me luck.

--

-AU- He saved her so she owed him. But to what extent would the emotionless Yakuza leader take her favor? -SakuraxGaara-

_--_

_This…this is so not cool_. The 21 year old girl thought as she ran down the dark road. She didn't stop to see if they were still following her.

**_Who cares if they're still following you? Just get the hell away from here as fast as you can_**. Her dammed 'inner self' (as the therapist called it) barked as she kept running. She would have stopped if she hadn't heard the car screech behind her. Rolling her eyes at the cliché horror movie scene, she ran faster.

She skidded to turn in the small alleyway, a place the car following her couldn't go to. She had lived in the city only a few weeks though and didn't expect it to be a dead end.

**_…You were correct in you assumption that this is a bad horror flick_**. Her second personality stated a slight chuckle in her voice.

_Shut up and left me think_. She thought back, looking around as the car came to a stop. Two men got out of the car. Both were tall, but one hid his face and one had silver hair. She raised an eyebrow at their black cloaks, but said nothing.

She could use her strength to try and beat them up, but the outcome looked extremely bad. Most likely she'd lose in the first few seconds. She cursed to herself for her stupid plan, but decided to go through with it anyways.

"Hey, funny chance meeting you two out here, right?" She lied with a nervous laugh following. She backed up into the brick wall behind her.

"Heh, Kakuzu, the bitch thinks she's funny." The silver haired one laughed, pointing at her as he walked closer. She didn't want to know what the threatening scythe on his back was used for. He leered at her. "Don't worry bitch, Pein wants you alive for Jashin knows what." He shrugged, not breaking a step.

"I vote make her into a prostitute." The one called Kakuzu said. She shuddered as she felt both men look her over. "She'd make more than the ones we have now."

**_I think that's a compliment_**.

_Yeah, sure sounds that way doesn't it?_ She had meant to roll her eyes in her head but accidently did it in front of the two men. She froze as the silver-haired man grinned.

"Nothing says I can't get her first." He licked his lips, still taking his time as he walked down the narrow corridor.

**_Great genius. Look what you did. If I controlled this body then that wouldn't have happened._** Sakura rolled her eyes again.

_That doesn't exactly help me, now does it? _She thought stubbornly.

"Aww….come on. You seem like a nice guy; can't you just let me go?" She asked sweetly, batting her long eyelashes.

"Sorry sweetheart, but orders are orders." He would have kept walking if he had suddenly passed out. Sakura raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side in confusion. The other man was knocked out too.

"Uhhh, what just happened?" She asked out loud. To be honest, though she'd never say it out loud, she was secretly waiting for a hot vampire to pop out from the shadows. What she got was just as good.

"Are you okay?" She froze at the voice. It was deep and husky, but not in a 'wilderness man' way. She nodded, still a bit shocked at the sudden voice. A figure walked from the shadows, revealing her mysterious savior. He was as handsome as his voice, if not more so. Tall with lean muscle, even though he wore a loose black dress shirt and matching black slack, and bright red hair. His skin was pale like the moon and his eyes were jade green. He stared at her, one of his nonexistent eyebrows raised as she stared back at him.

Clutching at the sides of her pink evening dress she backed up closer to the wall. "Who are you?" She asked eyes wide as he took a few steps closer.

He threw her an annoyed look before answering. "Gaara." He bent over to check the silver-haired man's pulse. "He's alive in case you wondered." He said after a few moments of silence.

She breathed a sigh of silent relief. _At least I don't have a killer in front of me_. "Can I ask you for a ride? I needed to be at a party about an hour ago." She asked nervously, taking a small step closer to the redhead.

He looked at her emotionlessly before a small smirk formed on his thin lips. "Do you really think it'd be safe to ride with a stranger?"

**_…He has a point, you know. Didn't you _**_just **get almost attacked by those two thugs?**_ Sakura blatantly chose to ignore her mind and shrugged.

"You look sort of like you're going where I was headed." She eyed his clothes. "Plus, I figure you're safer than walking all the way through town." She smiled up at him, happy for the little light that reached the alley.

He didn't say anything as he turned, beginning to walk away from her. She stood there, miffed that he didn't even say goodbye, before he looked back her, eyes still emotionless. "Are you coming or not?" He asked blankly.

She grinned, happy that her dress stopped above the knees, and skipped towards him. He raised an eyebrow at her shoeless feet and she gave him a sheepish grin. "I can't exactly run away with three inch Jimmy Choos, now can I?" She reached into her pursed and showed him the pink heels before closing it again. "I'll put them on in the car since walking in them has to hurt more than walking barefoot." She added as an afterthought.

He barely looked down as they stepped over the man called Kakuzu. Sakura didn't care about them either, just happy to be away from them both and standing next to the – **_smoking hot _**– redhead. They passed the two men's car and Sakura took out her many keys, making sure to leave a nice mark for the unconscious men when they woke up. Gaara didn't say anything as she left long white lines in the black Mercedes.

Once they arrived at his Aston Martin Vanquish, Sakura whistled low. "Nice ride, redhead." She got into the passenger side and pulled out her designer shoes, making sure to slip them on carefully before closing the door. He got in next to her.

"Where are you headed?" He asked stiffly.

"Hyuuga mansion." She said with a sigh. He just nodded and drove off silently.

**_Not too talkative is he? _**He Inner Self joked with a dry laugh.

_Apparently not, _Sakura frowned, glancing ever-so indiscreetly at the redhead next to her. _He did save me though, that's what matters._

**_As long as he doesn't kill you on the way there, until we're safe I say we be on guard. _**

Too Inner Sakura's surprise Sakura and Gaara arrived at the mansion, alive and well. Sakura smiled, turning to the redhead. "Do I look as bad as I think I do? I don't want to look like I've just been attacked." She cringed at the thought of her friends pestering her about what had happened.

She felt his eyes scan her quickly. "You look as if nothing happened." He said before leaving the black car. Confused, Sakura followed him up the steps of the Hyuuga house.

"Where are you going?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed as she combed through her long pink hair with her fingers.

"You're the one who said I looked like I was going where you were headed." She nearly tripped at his words.

"So you're going to the party too?" He nodded simply. "Not to be rude, but how do you know a Hyuuga?" She asked as she tried her best to keep up with his long stride.

He slowed down, obviously noticing her struggle. "Her cousin and fiancée work under me." She made a small 'O' with her mouth.

**_...Where do Naruto and Neji work anyways?_** Sakura thought for a minute as Gaara rang the doorbell. Come to think of it she didn't know where the two men worked.

"Hello and welcome to the Hyuuga Mansion, may I ask who you two are?" The stiff butler asked after opening the door.

"Haruno Sakura and," she turned to Gaara, shrugging, "and Gaara." The butler nodded and let the two inside the large mansion.

Upon entering the large mansion, the two met a flight of stairs leading to the ball room where the party was being held. Soft waltz music floated up and below them hundred of miscellaneous people danced to the slow music.

Sakura smiled at Gaara as the descended the stairs. Immediately he was met by Neji and another man that Sakura didn't recognize while Hinata greeted her.

"Sakura, you made it." The shy girl said, smile on her pale face. Sakura hugged the girl before her, missing the worried glance she sent her fiancée.

"Sakura, you came with Gaara-san?" Sakura frowned at the worried tone in her friend's voice.

"Well, we met about half way here." Sakura waved it off. "He saved me from some thugs and then drove me here." At her words the pale girl's eyes widened but she didn't say anything. "Hinata, what's wrong?"

"No-nothing," she started before jumping at the sudden hand on her shoulder.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto, a loud blonde haired man, yelled. "Let's dance." He led his shy fiancée to the large crowd and slowly began to waltz, leaving Sakura to wait for dinner.

"Sakura-chan?" She heard the familiar voice from her left. Turning she met the eyes of the one and only Inazuka, grinning goofily she went up and hugged her old friend.

"Kiba? I didn't expect Hinata to actually get you in a suit to go to one of these things!" She marveled at the crisp pinstriped suit he wore. He smirked down at her pink haler dress and she pushed him away from her playfully.

"Wow Sakura, you've changed since high school." He grinned down at her and she rolled her eyes. "When'd you get here though, I didn't see you when everyone was coming in."

"I came with Gaara." She looked around for the redhead, but turned back to the Inuzuka when she couldn't find him. She frowned when he had the same worried expression Hinata had. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head roughly. "Nothing, would you like to dance? My reputation will increase if I'm seen dancing with a beauty like you." She playfully pushed him again before taking his hand. He led her to the middle of the floor, just as a new, slow, song played.

His hand rested just above her hip and on her shoulder, pulling her closer than the dance called for. She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "So, Kiba-kun, how's life been since high school?"

He looked thoughtful for a minute. "I have one more year of college before I go to the veterinary school, but until then I'm working for Gaara." Kiba had always strived to become a veterinarian and so Sakura, who was a striving doctor, always got along with him. Not to mention his happy-go-lucky personality.

Sakura smiled. "You work for Gaara too? Seems like everyone does now." She laughed for a minute before noting his worried expression. "Kiba-kun? What's wrong?" She moved her hand to his chest, stopping their dancing for a second.

He grinned down at her. "Nothing you need to worry about, sweetheart." He held her chin in his large hand and made her look up at him. He smirked, leaning down slightly and she stepped on his foot.

"Still the same old Kiba." She smiled as the dance ended, looking for Hinata. "What happened to those two?" She asked as another song started. Kiba's hands resumed to their position on her waist as they began dancing. He shrugged at her question, looking above her head with a frown on his face.

Before she could ask what was wrong (for the third time) he left go of her. "Gaara, do you need anything?" He asked, walking towards the man behind her.

"A dance," Kiba raised his eyebrows, "with Haruno-san." The redhead ignored the brunette as he took Sakura's limp hand, leading her away from the stunned Kiba.

She smiled up at the man before her. "This is…weird. Every time I mention you people seem to get worried." She laughed as the taller man twirled her around, matching the other couple on the floor. He raised one of his nonexistent eyebrows as he danced flawlessly.

"Did you take lessons?" She asked absentmindedly. "Neji told me I couldn't go to one of their parties unless I passed his waltz and foxtrot test."

The redhead nodded. "My father wanted me to know how to." She nodded, small smile on her face.

They continued to dance in silence, parting after two songs. "Thanks for the dance, Gaara-kun." She looked around, spotting the familiar sight of platinum blonde hair. "Oh! Found Ino," she turned to him, flashing a large smile, before walking off in search of her friend.

"Ino, finally. You got here later than I did." Sakura exclaimed, hand on the taller blonde's shoulder. Ino was the perfect six foot tall runway model – too bad for all the designers, she had sworn against modeling. Instead she was an award winning writer for a multitude of novels, including a few, more _adult _romance novels, under another pen name.

The blonde flashed Sakura a bright smile. "I was trying to convince Choiji that dinner would be served in thirty minutes." She raised a thin eyebrow at Sakura, eyes scanning her outfit before landing on her pedicured toes. "What happened?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. _You can _never_ hide a chipped nail, ripped seam, or broken heel from Ino, now can you_. She thought cynically before smiling up at her friend. "I'll tell you and Hinata together, too much of a hassle otherwise."

Ino frowned. "You sound too much like Shika-kun." She scrunched up her flawless face. "Just give me a second to fetch Hinata and then we'll gossip." Before Sakura could stop her, the blonde was off in search of their friend.

Mere seconds later the blonde arrived, holding onto a reluctant Hinata with a large grin on her face, "Okay, spill." Sakura glanced at the dancing couple behind her two friends. No one was close enough to hear so she told them the story of being chased from her house to the alleyway.

By the time she had reached the part about getting into Gaara's car her two friends had wide eyes.

"Ga-Gaara-san, help-helped you?" Hinata stuttered, hands over her mouth.

Sakura nodded with a goofy smile on her face. "He was really nice about it all, even though he was pretty much silent about the whole thing. Is it weird for him to help people?"

Hinata shook her head violently. "Not at all. It's…it's just." She glanced around nervously.

"It's fine, Hinata. Sakura-san should know." All three girls jumped at the sudden male voice. They all turned to see the other Hyuuga, Neji, standing with his arms crossed.

"Know what?" Sakura asked.

"Well…well." Hinata started, twirling her thumbs as she searched for the words.

Neji rolled his eyes. "I'll explain everything after everyone has left. I assume that you two will be staying overnight?" Both girls nodded, it wasn't odd for them to crash at Hinata's since it was the largest house. "Then I will explain everything later."

They all nodded while Hinata breather a sigh of relief at not having to tell them the _horrible_ secret.

**_What's this all about?_** Sakura Inner Self asked as the guests were called into the large dining room to eat.

_I…actually have no idea. _Sakura picked at the roast duck in front of her, suddenly not very hungry. Across from her sat Gaara who picked at his food also. The Hyuugas were well known for their lavish dinner parties, serving a multitude of delicacies. Delicacies that Sakura could have spent her entire life never even attempting to try.

Finally, after two entrées, three main courses, and two deserts, dinner was over and all the guests had left. All that remained were Naruto, Ino, Gaara, herself, and Kiba, and of course Hinata and Neji.

Sakura ran down the stairs an hour after the party had ended. Her long hair was wet and she wore an oversized black shirt and a pair of hot pink flannel pajamas. Ino came down in a pair of purple silk shorts and a loose purple shirt. Hinata came down in an outfit similar to Sakura's.

"Yo, why are you all still here?" She asked, pointing to the crowd of men that sat on the large couches that surrounded the large TV. She walked over and sat next to Kiba who sat alone on the large, four person black couch. Ino sat on the other side of Kiba.

Neji cleared his throat as Hinata cuddled up to her fiancée. "Now that you're here I will explain some things. First, we," he motioned to everyone, "all work for Gaara." Sakura immediately stared at the redhead. "Second, our business isn't exactly _legal_ so to speak so I suggest you don't talk about this with anyone that isn't here tonight." She nodded, still confused.

"Finally, one of the rules is that if you receive a favor directly from the Leader that you owe him one back." Sakura frowned at Neji words.

"I know I owe him, but why are you all acting as if I'm cursed?" She asked hesitantly, looking at the worried expression on her friends' faces. The only calm was seemed to be Gaara. No one said anything and Sakura shifted under the tension. Finally, someone spoke.

"You are cursed." The redheads voice echoed in the large room and Sakura felt Kiba tense at the sound of his voice. "My favors are known to be…different." He smirked as their eyes met.

She smirked too. "Well," she nodded slowly, smirk growing, "what if I say I like different?" She challenged.

"Then I'll have to come up with something creative." The room visibly relaxed as the challenge was issued. Sakura had no idea _what_ his favor would be, but as long as it was interesting she didn't really care.

**_What if it's perverted?_** Her Inner Self asked with a husky voice.

_Then I'll have to fulfill it, now won't I?_ Sakura giggled inwardly at her own brash resolve.

No matter what he asked, she'd obey He only has _one _chance after all.

* * *

**A/N:** Not the most interesting chapter, but after 3 different plots (All of which I'll probably use in a different story), this was the easiest way to get the point across.

Next chapter will explain _why_ they're all following him and _why_ she owes him a favor, hopefully.

:D I tried really hard to make Gaara in character and most likely failed horribly, I know this, but I'll keep him like this since if he was kept the way he is in the manga then this story would get nowhere.

Also, on another note, I've never really had 'Inner Sakura' in my story. I understand that Inner Sakura doesn't really talk back to her in the series, but I wanted to play with the idea.

And thus, the traditional beg for reviews: Please review :D

**Edit**: I'm sorry to all the car lovers. I had accidentally named it 'Austin' instead of 'Aston' Martin :D It's fixed as on 8/28/08

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

A bit of information in this chapter with some GaaraxSakura at the bottom as a small treat :D

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Chapter 2

--

"Sakura-chan, are you really going to do Gaara a favor?!" The loud blonde man yelled, causing the others in the small coffee shop to stare. His fiancée just held his arm, hoping he'd stop soon.

The pink-haired woman just rolled her eyes. "Yes, Naruto, I will. Neji made it clear that I _had_ to do the guy a favor and I was planning on repaying him anyways." She sipped on her coffee, throwing him a look that said 'I dare you to challenge me'.

And of course he did. "But Sakura-chan Neji didn't say you _had_ to! Gaara's a good guy; he wouldn't make you do anything if you really didn't want to!" Hinata lunged for her mocha as her fiancée's arms flew wildly.

Sakura sighed loudly. "I know he's a good guy - scary and weird, but nice nonetheless. What's the point in asking a pardon when I don't even know what he'll ask?"

The blonde pouted, ignoring the silent pleas of the girl on his arm to stop. "But Sakura-chan, that's the _problem_. You _don't_ know what he'll ask! What if he asks you something weird and," His face scrunched up and he glanced around suspiciously, "dirty?"

Sakura raised both eyebrows, fake shock on her face. "Then poor Gaara-kun wouldn't be as nice as you said, now would he?" She laughed at his surprised face. "Don't worry about me Naruto, I'll be fine. Now," her eyes narrowed, "tell me why _I'm_ the last one to know about your…business."

The couple flinched in unison, staying silent at the threat underneath her voice. The emerald-eyed girl glared at the weaker of the two. "Hinata, tell me. It's not fair." She pouted, sticking out her lower in to emphasize her point.

"Sakura-chan, don't pick on Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled. "It's because we didn't want you to get hurt." He whispered something rare for the blonde.

Sakura's eyes widened. "What about you? You're not exactly the model mafia type." She said with a sad smile on her face.

**_…Us get hurt? What about Hinata? That poor girl is an accident waiting to happen._** Her Inner Self yelled, giving Sakura a headache.

_Hinata is trained in not only martial arts, but her family's own style of fighting._ Sakura inwardly shuddered at the memory of the frightening fighting style before throwing a glare at the couple.

"Hurt?" Se growled out, eyebrows furrowed. Her manicured hand tightened around the cardboard cup.

Naruto and Hinata nodded. "You're going to be a doctor, Sakura." Hinata said with a small smile. "Neji and everyone agreed that it would be best if you weren't involved. Gaara and Neji were worried though, since you were so close to all of us, and decided to watch you more closely."

Sakura frowned. "Watch me more closely?" Sakura hissed.

The couple nodded in unison and Naruto leaned in to whisper. "We're at war with Akatsuki. Those two guys that attacked you are from them."

Sakura leaned back suddenly, hands up to stop him from talking. "So Gaara was _stalking_ me? Is that how he found me?" She asked angrily, leaning in suddenly.

Hinata's eyes widened. "Not-not at all!" She stated. "He was on the way and just saw you running. Of course it would be easy to recognize you, not many girls have pink hair." Sakura smiled at her blue-haired friend's words, suddenly relaxing. "He really did help you for the sake of helping you."

"Really? Well then I still owe him a favor." She giggled at Naruto's frown. "But…why a yakuza? None of you guys really seem the type."

Naruto shrugged, standing up to leave. "We have to go and meet her parents. If you want to know more just ask Ino." He grinned down at her, flashing his pearly teeth. "Good-bye Sakura-chan, and be careful." His eyes flashed with silent danger as he left with Hinata on his arm.

**_Well,_** her Inner Self started, **_this is just getting weirder and weirder, isn't it?_**

Sakura nodded absently mindedly as she threw away her cup. _Yup, but I need to find out more about that damned redhead._ She thought with a growl, smirk on her lips.

Who else to find the latest gossip from but the one and only Ino Yamanaka?

--

"You have no idea how nice it feels to not have to lie to you!" The blonde yelled, crushing her friend in a bear hug. Sakura pushed the girl off of her and stepped into the modern-styled apartment with envy at the perfection. Everything was perfectly aligned and dust was a taboo word in Ino's apartment.

"You shouldn't have lied in the first place, Ino." Sakura said with a smile as she collapsed on the blonde's black leather sofa. Ino joined her, sad expression on her face.

"Neji threatened to kill my baby!" Sakura rolled her eyes, laughing with the blonde. Ino had no children. Instead, she called her desktop her baby. Wiping at the tears from laughing, she continued. "Remember my second romance novel? The one with the yakuza and the heiress?" Sakura nodded. "That's how I found out about the whole thing. Hinata thought I had figured it out and accidently spilled the beans."

"She probably thought it was like your first romance book." Sakura shuddered at the memory of the 'fiction' novel.

Ino saw her shudder and laughed, licking her lips sensually. "What can I say? Iruka-_sensei _was just so tasty." Sakura blanched. "And anyways, I've already explained that that book was eighty percent made up." Ino waved it off.

Sakura shook her head slowly. "I'm not really curious as to how much was made up. Just tell me why I was the only one to not know." She asked, frustrated at the secret.

Ino shifted nervously, something she only did when she _really_ didn't want to talk about something. "Well, you see," she cringed, hesitating openly, "They all voted to keep you out of the secret because they were worried about your career. If you were worried about being attacked then how could you become a doctor?"

**_That makes sense…sort of_**. "I guess much good it does now." Both girls grinned. "But why a gang? Naruto and Hinata left before they could answer and asking Neji would get me nowhere."

Ino frowned. "I don't really know. I know it began when Gaara moved here though." Sakura raised her eyebrows. "And a lot of it has to do with money and Akatsuki."

"One, Neji and Hinata don't need money, so why are they doing this? And what the hell is this 'Akatsuki'? I keep hearing about it."

Ino shrugged off the first question, telling her it was mystery. The next question made her sigh over-dramatically and Sakura knew the inner writer in Ino had already formed a new book over the drama. "Akatsuki is the reason the more downtown parts of Konoha has brothels and murders. We've been at war ever since we were formed; they don't take well to competition even though Gaara doesn't want to have any brothels. Akatsuki will attack anyone they pose a threat. They've been trying to recruit Naruto for years since he's so strong.

"They even stooped as low as to attack Hinata. She sent the two weaklings to the hospital though," Ino added with a giggle. "They would've attacked me, but Tenten, Temari, and Hinata have already proven that the girls in our group weren't so strong." She flexed. "I've been hitting the gym too, you know."

Sakura pinched the muscle-less skin of the blonde's arm. "Yeah, I can tell." The blonde pouted, but the smile on her face showed her amusement. "Who's Temari?"

"Gaara's sister, don't worry, I didn't meet her until a few months ago anyways."

"_Months?!_" Sakura yelled eyes wide. "How long have they done this and how come I've never seen Gaara before?"

Ino scooted back, hands up in defense. "It's been about two years." She answered quickly, trying to calm her friend. "And Gaara's pretty mysterious. I'm still trying to meet Sasuke."

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked, calmed somewhat.

Ino nodded, eyes glistening with the obvious look of a new plot. "Apparently he's Naruto's best friend, but he ditched the gang last year to 'get stronger' or something. He's supposed to be hot by the definition Tenten gave me and strong enough to compete with Naruto."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Really? I've never heard of him…"

"Yeah," Ino said, "Naruto flew all the way to China looking for him. Apparently he's training with one of the strongest Yakuza men ever," her voice lowered, "one of the Sanin."

Sakura's face went blank. "Sa-nin?"

Ino nodded, "Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru. The three strongest yakuzas."

"_Tsunade-shishou?!"­_Sakura yelled, standing up suddenly. "The chief of medicine?!"

Ino nodded. "I thought you knew her."

The shock was almost too much for the poor pink-haired girl. She stood up and took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "How do I find Gaara?" She asked suddenly. At Ino's confused face, she continued. "I need to talk to him."

The blonde's face scrunched up in hesitation. "Actually," she started, looking at the clock, "Neji wants to see you today at seven." The clock read 6:45.

Sakura massaged her temples. "Are you guys doing this to annoy me? Hinata and Naruto send me to you, you send me to Neji, and what? He'll probably send me to Shikamaru."

"I think he's sending you to Kiba, actually." Ino joked before walking the girl to the door. "Don't worry, it'll get better, I promise. Don't forget to tell me _all_ the details when Gaara finally makes you do him a favor. I already have a story in mind, but maybe he'll ask you something good." She winked at Sakura before shoving her out the door.

Sakura shook her head as she walked to the car. "I'm not going to tell you anything. From what I hear he doesn't seem like the person to ask the kind of favors you'd write about." Ino just shrugged, bright smile on her face as Sakura drove away.

In the car Sakura was having a hard time concentrating on the road.

**_…This is weird. _**Her Inner Self commented as she sped down the highway.

_Which part? The 'everyone is a gangster and I'm left out'? Or the 'Tsunade-shishou was a yakuza _boss_' part?_ Sakura asked herself sarcastically.

**_The 'Only 80 percent of the book was made up' part, actually._** Her Inner Self said thoughtfully. Sakura decided to ignore herself and continue driving.

The Hyuuga Mansion towered over her, even more beautiful in the daylight. She walked up to four story house and before she could ring the doorbell the door opened.

"You're late." Neji said in a business-like tone. He glared down at the emerald-eyed girl, annoyed at her twenty minute lateness.

She stared at him before shaking her head. This wasn't the time to be thinking about murdering the poor man. "Well, I'm sorry," she started sweetly, "I didn't seem to get the memo that I was on a schedule." She added with a growl.

The Hyuuga just stared blankly before backing up to let her inside. "Good point." He mumbled as he led her to the living room. Inside she was greeted with a frighteningly familiar sight: Gaara.

"You're here too?" She asked with a small smile as she sat across from him. Wiping at the invisible dust on her white jeans she concentrated on not looking at the man in front of her. A cough brought her back to her surroundings.

"I asked if you both rethought your decisions." Neji said, glaring at Sakura. He sat on the lounge chair in the middle of the two couches.

"Both?" Sakura asked curiously. "What did you guys try to persuade Gaara with? Did you guys tell him I ate babies or maybe I kill puppies in my free time?" Sakura sneered, still miffed about having to drive around town at Neji's orders.

Gaara smirked while Neji's glare intensified. "We weren't trying to slander your reputation, Sakura-san." He said formally. "I just wanted to be sure that you," he turned to her, "wanted to do one of Gaara-san's favors and if you," he turned to Gaara, "wanted to let her do a favor."

Sakura frowned. "What's wrong with giving _me_ a favor?" She hissed, suddenly feeling very insulted.

Neji noted her attitude and would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't…well, Neji. "Sakura-san, nothing personal, but you aren't very compatible with Gaara-san."

"…Compatible?" She asked with a blank face. "Why would I need to be 'compatible' to do a _favor_? God you guys are taking this way to far." She said to the older man as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "You know this is all getting _very_ old _very_ fast. If you guys didn't want me to know about the Yakuza thing you should have just said so." She growled out as she stood up swiftly. A hand grabbed her arm as soon as she stood though.

She turned on her heel to face an angry Gaara. "Stay." He commanded. She froze at the tone of his voice. "Sit." He nodded to the sofa she just got off of. She sat silently, pulling her arm from his rough grip. As soon a she sat back down he went to sit on his on sofa.

Neji cleared his throat. "We have nothing against you knowing about our business. It was fate that you found out one day; I just hadn't thought it'd be so soon. Now," he folded his hands, "the reason everyone is so worried about you doing Gaara a favor is the fact that Akatsuki has already targeted you."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. "Targeted me?" Her voice cracked as she spoke.

The long-haired man nodded slowly. "They're not as stupid as Ino and Naruto might believe. They never do anything without proper thought first. They've already tried to attack you once and that means something."

"Something like what?" She questioned, surprisingly calm.

"Something like they know your friends with us." His lavender eyes narrowed considerably before he closed them completely. "They could try to use you, especially this favor, against us."

"Wait; aren't I doing _Gaara_ a favor? How could they use that?" She asked bluntly, more confused than before.

Neji sighed, about to speak when he was suddenly interrupted. "They think you'll become close to me." Both Neji and Sakura's heads shot up to stare at the redhead. He stared back. "It would never happen though."

"Is that a warning?" Sakura challenge, smile on her face. "Or a promise?"

He studied her for a second before answering. "A promise."

"Back to the problem at hand," Neji said as he leaned back against the lounge chair, "you're in danger whether you do a favor or not."

Sakura's face went blank. "Then why all the trouble to get me not to do a favor? I mean, it's _just_ a favor, right?" She teased, winking at the stoic Hyuuga.

"That's up to Gaara." Neji said simply.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Fine fine, but let me get this straight. You guys are in a gang, Gaara's the leader, Akatsuki is your rival, and now they think that I'm close to Gaara why?" She asked. Neji nodded and Gaara looked impassive. "So…what's this favor about and why do people _need_ to do one?"

"I don't do things for free." Gaara stated, meeting her eyes. "When I do favors, I expect more in return."

"Isn't that a bit selfish?" Sakura asked.

He smirked, "Not at all. I make my own rules and if others don't want to follow them then that's their decision."

She smiled. "A decision with consequences I assume."

"Perhaps."

She took a deep sigh, stretching into the black couch. "So, what do I have to do to get into your good graces?"

He was silent for a minute. "I'll have to think about it."

"What's more pressing at the moment is your safety, Sakura." Neji cut in. "I know you were a strong fighter in high school, but Akatsuki most likely knows this. They sent two of their stronger men to get you last night."

She nodded, serious now. "I noticed that they weren't just some thugs. The talkative one mentioned something about a…Pein wanting me."

Neji's eyes widened slightly. "Pein is their leader. If he wants you for something then the security around you will have to be doubled."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Hinata and Naruto mentioned something about _watching me_." She growled out. "What does 'doubled' mean exactly?"

Neji was unfazed by her anger. "It means you shouldn't be alone too often. We'll respect your privacy, but you should probably stay with Ino for a few weeks."

Sakura groaned. "Have you ever stayed with Ino? She's a complete neat freak! Touch her precious manuscripts and she'll bite your head off. Pick someone else."

Neji glared at her but she held her ground. "I don't know of anyone else who'd put up with you. For now we'll just have someone stay at your house late and arrive early."

"So someone'll be practically living with me?" She asked. No one had ever roomed with Sakura for more than one week. She always ended up kicking them out.

Neiji nodded. "It'll most likely be who ever is free on that day. I'll call Kiba and ask him to follow you home."

"No need, Neji." Gaara spoke. "I'll take her." The redhead stood up from his couch, all the while staring down at Sakura.

Neji nodded swiftly, not saying a word as he left the room, most likely to tell everyone what had just happened. Sakura stood and followed Gaara out the home silently.

Once outside she spoke. "Why are you doing so much for me?" She stared curiously up at him.

"Everyone is close to you. It would look bad for a leader to ignore the needs of his subordinates." He said stoically as he continued to walk down the walkway from the mansion to the driveway.

"They can't just be your subordinates. They seem so much closer to you than that." He was silent at her words so she just continued. "For Neji to treat you so well is an obvious sign of his respect. And for Hinata and Ino not to tell me about you means a lot too."

"They care for you more than me. The blonde dared to threaten me if I didn't protect you." Sakura's eyes widened. After less than 24 hours even she knew Gaara wasn't someone to take a threat lightly. "I didn't hurt her if that's what your wondering." She blushed, that was exactly what she was thinking.

"You seem nicer than everyone makes you out to be." She cringed at her words. "Not that they don't think you're nice. It's just that you can tell when someone fears another person and Hinata and Ino are definitely scared of you. Sometimes it seems as if they think you're a monster." She giggled.

At her words he stopped. They were right behind her car and next to his, only two feet separated them. He turned to face her. "I am a monster." He said coldly, face emotionless.

She smiled up at him. "No you're not." She said cheerfully.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward, causing her to stumble into him. He grabbed her chin forcefully and leaned down, narrowly missing her lips as he went to her ear. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as her whispered: "You know nothing yet."

He let her go with a soft push and went to his car silently while she stood there in a daze. Her face was bright red as she walked to her car, missing the keyhole multiple times as she tried to snap out of her daze.

**_He's sexy._** Inner Sakura stated wistfully. Sakura mentally agreed, choosing not to comment on the danger laced into his words. Frankly, the words themselves didn't scare her – it was intent behind them.

**_It was like he wanted to eat you_**. Sakura shivered as she drove home, more than just aware of the Aston Martin trailing behind her. She froze at what she saw in her rearview mirror. In the dusk light the redhead looked more animal than man. His eyes were darker than normal as he smirked at her. He knew she was scared and he liked it that way.

Sakura didn't like being the prey, but even she knew a mouse against a falcon was devastating odds.

_I thought he was going to protect me_. She cursed in her head.

**_He never said it'd be free_**. Her Inner Self said harshly. Sakura clenched at the steering wheel as she turned into her neighborhood, a sense of terror filling her body as she parked her car outside her tiny apartment building.

She knew then and there that this wasn't a simple game anymore. It was something much deeper and complex.

--

Like it?

**Edit**: I'm sorry to all the car lovers. I had accidentally named it 'Austin' instead of 'Aston' Martin :D It's fixed as on 8/28/08


	3. Chapter 3

New chapter, yay.

All your reviews were wonderful! Let's reach 50 this time )

--

Chapter 3

--

"Would you like dinner? I'm starving." She put her hand over her stomach and chuckled nervously. She walked slowly up the stairway to her tiny apartment. The numbers on the other door seemed to flash by as she neared her door.

He nodded silently, not looking at her. She continued, "How about ramen? I don't have a good stock of food since I spend most of my time out." She glanced over at him, happy that he was staring at the floor. "Oh, this one's mine. Number 50." She smiled at him before fishing for her keys.

**_You can't stall forever. He might be scary, but I don't think he'd do something that'd hurt Naruto and Neji._** Inner Sakura said calmly. Sakura ignored her voice, opting to slowly open the door and invite the man in. **_Aren't you _not_ supposed to invite the vampire into your home?_** Inner Sakura teased.

"Just make yourself at home. Move the books if they're in the way, sorry for the mess." Sakura blushed as she looked around at her one bedroom apartment. Not only was there a large pile of medical texts around and on the couch, but her more skimpy lingerie was hanging above the television, which happened to be right next to the door. Needless to say she rushed over and pulled the lingerie from the clothing line before Gaara could see them. She knew she failed when she saw the smirk grow on his otherwise emotionless face.

"I'm just going to change before I make dinner." She smiled, trying to hide the raging blush before she ran off to change. Once in her bedroom she locked the door before pulling out a pair of old black sweats and a pink tanktop.

**_Can't you dress up? You have company._**

_It's just Gaara and I want to be comfortable…_ Sakura pouted before stuffing the underwear in her drawers.

Walking out she found the redhead reading a book. Sakura took a close look at the red cover before blushing. "That…that's not mine." She mumbled, trying her best not to look at him.

"I didn't think so, you don't really seem the type to read 'A Pirate's Tale: a story of love, lust, and sex'." Gaara stated as he lazily flipped the pages.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Ino is," she paused, biting her lower lip softly, "very creative. Now, how about ramen?" She asked cheerfully, bouncing on the balls of her feet. The man nodded, following her, for ten feet, to the kitchen.

Sakura pulled out two packs of ramen and started to boil a large pot of water. "I hope you don't mind sharing." She mumbled as she dumped both packages into the boiling water, stirring slowly as all her concentration focused onto the food.

"So you're going to be a doctor?" Gaara asked quietly, obviously not caring for conversations.

She nodded. "My mentor when I volunteered at the hospital was probably someone you know. Tsunade-shishou?" She smiled as he tensed for a moment. "I'm guessing that you do know her, go figure, she never mentioned you or this '_business'_" She hissed out the word, stirring the ramen harder.

"There's a reason for it, you know." He said slowly, not taking his eyes off of her. She shifted uncomfortable but otherwise ignored him until the food had finished.

She poured out the ramen, giving him a bigger share, and sat across from him at the small counter. They ate in silence. Sakura finished first and went to wash out her bowl. As she scrubbed the white bowl a warm arm wrapped around her stomach and she was pulled back roughly, causing her to drop the bowl.

"What the hell?" She said breathlessly as the other arm wrapped around her shoulders. She tilted her head up, hitting against a hard chest. Her emerald eyes met jade ones. "What are you doing Gaara?" She shivered as he pulled her closer.

He said nothing, just stared down at confused face silently. "If you're trying to scare me it's not working." She teased. He stiffened; face darkening before his arms held her even tighter, causing her to wince in pain as his nails dug into her thin shirt and skin.

"I could kill you at any moment, doesn't that scare you? I could do anything I wanted to at this very moment and no one could do any to me in return, does _that_ scare you?" He whispered in her ear, breaking eye contact as he rested his head against hers.

Sakura couldn't move. Inner Sakura was yelling but she couldn't understand any of it. "Yes." She whispered. "I'm scared, happy?" She shook as her legs gave out underneath her. Gaara held her strongly, stopping her from falling.

"I don't feel happiness." He mumbled into her hair.

She couldn't help herself, "But apparently you can feel victorious." He let go of her at her words, causing her to fall, and left, closing the door behind him.

**_That was not unexpected_**. Inner Sakura said lazily, finally calm after what had just happened.

Sakura just sat there in a daze. **_Get off your lazy butt and go to bed, you need the rest. _**Sakura, surprisingly, obeyed her Inner Self, and stumbled to her bedroom, closing the door softly behind her as she collapsed onto her small bed.

--

Sakura shifted, trying to move her hands but finding it hard, before opening her eyes. Darkness. **_This can't be good_**. Inner Sakura pointed out cautiously. Sakura tried to move but found it ultimately impossible. And, as if she hadn't figured it out already, a voice confirmed her suspicions.

"You're tied up if you haven't noticed. Escape is futile, yeah." The smug voice said from behind her. Her head whipped to glare at the voice. "You're blindfolded too." He, as she had decided it was, said with a laugh.

The poor man was obviously unlucky seeing as her mouth was obviously not taped. "Bastard," she growled out, "where the hell am I?" She snapped, hoping that he was close enough to bite.

The man just laughed. "If I tell you, I'll have to kill you and we need you alive for now, yeah." Sakura blanched at his cheerful tone.

"You guys are Akatsuki which means I'm most likely in the Akatsuki headquarters." She mused out loud, more than just a little happy when the man cursed. "Not too hard to figure out." She mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Bet'cha can't guess where it is, yeah." He said childishly.

"Hm….I don't really care at the moment." She shrugged; leaning against what she hoped was a wall. "It doesn't matter since you'll either kill me or let me go anyways." She sighed at her own predicament.

"You're smarter than Pein said you'd be, yeah. I still don't see what the little Kazekage sees in you, though." The man mumbled.

"Kazekage?"

He chuckled. "You don't know as much as you thought, yeah. The Kazekage, Gaara, is the leader of most of the west side of Konoha, his group is called Suna. We, the Akatsuki don't have a special title for our leader." He scoffed.

"Well, that's cute." She hummed. "Any idea when I'll be untied and un-blindfolded?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Not a clue, but probably soon since none of us want to lead a blindfolded girl around, yeah."

"You could always let me go and then none of you would have to even see me anymore." She said persuasively, smile on her face.

"I didn't say none of us wanted to lead around a pretty girl, yeah. Just none of us want to lead around a _blindfolded_ girl. Where's the fun if you can't see the pain?" She shivered at his tone. It was scary and serious but joking all the while.

A door opened on her right, near the man. "Deidara," a calm voice said, "Pein said to leave the girl in Kisame's care." She felt the binds on her wrist be pulled up, forcing her to stand. She gasped at the sudden forced but otherwise stayed silent.

**_This is bad. This is bad. This is bad._** Inner Sakura chanted as Sakura walked out of the room, light pooled up around the blindfolds.

_Shut up, you're making my head hurt._ Sakura complained as she tried to keep up with her captor's fast pace. _I need to think dammit_. She thought with a snarl as her Inner self wouldn't stop.

She felt the rope change hands and was suddenly pulled forward, rougher than before. "Come on," a gruff voice said angrily, "keep up or there will be consequences." She just nodded in understanding, not trusting herself to remain calm if she tried to talk.

**_Where the hell are they taking us?_** Her Inner Self asked.

_How will I know? If you haven't understood by now we're in the same boat, Hun._ Sakura retorted, shaking when they suddenly stopped. The light was still on.

"I'm going to take off your blindfold. I trust you won't scream since I've heard that you're supposedly smart and I'm sure a smart girl would know what happens when you scream." She nodded, trying to stay still when she felt the rough hands touch her face lightly. The blindfold fell off and she hissed as the light hit her eyes but otherwise stayed silent.

"Good girl." The voice said. She took in his shocking appearance with wide eyes. _Blue skin?_ She raised an eyebrow at the scars on his face. _Gills?_ The man smirked in her recognition. "You have a problem with how I look, girl?" He asked menacingly.

She shook her head fiercely and his smirk widened. "You can stay in this room. Find something to do, but don't be a nuisance or else I'll send Hidan to watch you." She remember that name and nodded slowly, looking behind him at the virtually empty room. A small couch, a television, and a bookshelf with no more than ten books on it was all that was in the rom. She frowned. "I understand it's not much, but you'll live." He said lazily as he walked over to the couch and turned on the television.

Sakura stood there confused. _Now this is unexpected._ She thought to herself as she walked over to the couch and sat down as far from the blue man as possible.

"Why am I here?" She asked once the commercial started. They were watching a soap opera where the daughter had just found out her mother was actually her father and _he_ was having sex with her boyfriend.

The blue man turned to her. "I don't know." He said bluntly, shrugging.

"Sure you do. You're wearing that god-awful jacket which means you're probably higher up that the other peons." He grinned. "Yeah, yeah, I'm smart and frankly _bored_ and you're the most interesting person in the room."

"You aren't scared of me? Of Aktasuki?" He asked his full attention on her now.

She sighed. "I probably am, but right now I think I want to be in denial." She blanched at her own uninterested tone. "Do you want me to cower in fear?" She asked with a tiny smile.

He grinned back, sharpened teeth showing, and laughed. "You're pretty funny, girl. Personally I don't give a damn whether your pissing yourself or jumping for joy, but there are some here who would prefer you to 'cower in fear' as you put it. When my shift is over you'll be watched by Itachi. I suggest you stay as far from him s you can, girl." He warned.

"My name isn't girl, blue-man, it's Sakura."

"I know."

"Then why call me girl?" She asked.

He grinned at her again. "Just because I know doesn't mean I care, girl. My name isn't 'blue-man' it's Kisame."

She shrugged. "I know." She said with a grin. Kisame laughed and she joined in with a smile.

**_Stop being buddy-buddy with this guy!_** Her Inner Self yelled.

_He's nicer than Itachi is supposed to be, besides, I'm bored and he's actually pretty funny. More fun than Gaara at least…_She trailed off with a sigh.

**_Forget him. We're in a bad situation right now, remember? _**

After the soap opera had ended and the girlfriend had forgiven her father/mother and her boyfriend the door opened. Neither Sakura nor Kisame moved an inch as a figure walked in and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh, it's you, Itachi." He said with a grin. "Meet Sakura." She turned to look this Itachi, but quickly looked away.

_That guy is scary._ She told herself, shuddering as she tried to forget the sight. _Who the hell as red eyes and glares as a greeting? _She asked herself angrily.

"Why is the blindfold off, Kisame?" Her attention snapped back to the two men as the conversation involved her.

"I figured she could see this pathetic room and not be a problem." The blue man said cheerfully.

"It is a problem. If leader finds out you'll be the one to face the consequences." The black-haired man said blankly.

"Do you care if I get in trouble?" Kisame asked with a wide grin. Itachi didn't say anything so the blue man stood up and walked to the door. "Bye girl. Good luck with him." He mouthed the last part and Sakura waved to him, smile on her face, before everything went black.

"**What the hell!**" She screamed, trying desperately to claw at the fabric hindering her vision. Her nails met with skin and she scratched at the hands until they stopped trying to tie the blindfold in place. "At least warn me!" She yelled, jumping up to turn around and face her attacker.

He didn't say anything until she stopped shaking. "I am under orders to have you blindfolded at all times. You aren't a guest here; you're a hostage so I don't think I need to warn you of anything I do in the future." He said simply, holding out the blindfold to her. "Put that on and sit down." She grabbed the fabric, making sure not to touch him, tied it around her head, and sat down angrily.

She felt him walk in front of her. "Now, I'll re-tie the binds around you hands." She held out her hands impatiently and felt the rough rope wrap around her small wrists lightly.

"Thank-you for warning me and not just taking my hands." She said with a blush. It wasn't everyday Sakura had to thank someone, well, not until she met Gaara of course.

"I just wanted to keep m hands intact." He said emotionlessly. Sakura didn't know where he went, he stayed in the room of course, but he didn't sit next to her.

"Do _you_ know why I'm here?" She asked with a smile.

"Yes." He said, not offering more than that.

She pouted. "Will you tell me?" She prodded.

"No." She rolled her eyes, but stayed silent.

**_What's with the hot guys and this superiority-I-don't-feel-anything complex?_** Her Inner Self huffed, feeling rejected.

_Don't ask me._ Sakura said before adding, _I wonder where Gaara is_.

**_Bite your mental tongue. We can think about him once we get out of here…that is if we even do get out of here._**

Sakura ignored herself, choosing to keep all thoughts involving Gaara or the kidnapping away from her mind lest her Inner Self start talking again.

--

"Hey, Itachi," she started after an hour of silence, "are you guys going to kill me?" She asked with a shaking voice.

Silence. She expected that. "Most likely." She froze at his voice before chuckling humorlessly.

"Thanks for the heads up then."

* * *

) Reach 50, right?

This story is so much fun to write! I always wanted to write Kisame as a more...fun character so writing him was joy.

Itachi is...just Itachi, what more to say?

And Gaara, what will Gaara do? ...If he does anything that is.

* * *


	4. Special Chapter

Wow. 50 exactly. I can not express my love

This chapter is thanks to UGAgirl for her idea of switching POVs.

So, a special treat with a special chapter - no Sakura though and all Gaara/what happened during her kidnap.

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**Special Chapter**

**--**

_Sakura couldn't move. Inner Sakura was yelling but she couldn't understand any of it. "Yes." She whispered. "I'm scared, happy?" She shook as her legs gave out underneath her. Gaara held her strongly, stopping her from falling._

_"I don't feel happiness." He mumbled into her hair._

_She couldn't help herself, "But apparently you can feel victorious." He let go of her at her words, causing her to fall, and left, closing the door behind him._

**-**

Gaara slammed the car door shut and let his head fall against the headrest, suddenly exhausted. It wasn't everyday he talked to such a snappy female. Hell, he doubt he had _ever_ been talked to that way. Even his bitchy sister knew her place, so how come Sakura didn't?

The question was lost on him, something rare, and he drove off quickly. He was just in a hurry to get the hell away from her house.

_What the hell is my problem?_ He thought as he sped down the highway. Gaara didn't like to break plain, everyday laws, but speeding was just one of his many vices. The speedometer was at 90 and still he didn't bother to slow down, instead he just swerved around the other cars

His hand brushed through his thick red hair and he remembered the feeling of his lips against her long pink hair. He shuddered at the memory.

Gaara was hardly an amateur when it came to women. He had had many experiences even his closest friends didn't know of, but that didn't mean he had ever been in love. He wasn't now, in fact…he thinks.

He blamed Ino. The dammed blonde just _had_ to mention protecting their other friend without her noticing, something about medicine. Of course, being the good boss he was, Gaara agreed. What he didn't agree on, though, was being the stalker. Gaara was not a stalker…until he met Sakura that is.

He frowned at the memory of the first time he saw her. She was hanging out with a guy, at a bar, and had obviously had more than a few drinks. He knew she wasn't 21 at the time and the guy she was with obviously knew too. That was first time he had saved her from danger. Ever since he kicked that guy's ass and led her home Gaara had been protecting her. That time in the alley was just one of many times he had saved her, but this time he let himself get caught.

Gaara did not like secrets and, frankly, he liked Sakura. Well, what he had watched he had liked. He had seen her studying for hours on end in the library, taking notes diligently in college, and even volunteering at the hospital (though of course he didn't know then that Tsunade worked there also). He had to admit she was different, similar to Ino and Hinata but different at the same time, and he admired her skills.

What he didn't like? The fact she was such a target for danger. The mere thought of her in danger sparked the demon inside of him to make her his. Savage? Yes. Did Gaara care? Not at all, in fact he liked it. He'd rather scare her than let her come to any _actual_ danger. In some ways he wanted to hurt her, but those mostly involved whips and chains. He licked his lips at the thought, wanting all the more to turn back and see her again.

He was halfway to his home out in the far south of Konoha when he got _the_ call. "Gaara?" The always calm voice of Neji spoke over the phone. Gaara mumbled a yes in reply. "There's a problem." The words made him pull over to the nearest gas station. He parked the car and told the Hyuuga to continue. "Sakura's been kidnapped."

_Dammit_. He thought. "What happened?"

"We're trying to figure it out. Shikamaru says there was no struggle and that she hadn't locked the door and most likely went to sleep when they came." Gaara ground his teeth in an effort to control his anger. "We already know who did it, but the question is where they took her." Neji said angrily

"Find her." Gaara ordered, frightening the passersby.

"We will, don't worry. I know," Neji paused and Gaara noticed the background noise fade away, "I know how you felt about her." The Hyuuga finally said.

Gaara was taken aback by the words. How he felt about Sakura? "What?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"Nevermind, we'll talk about it when to come to my house." Neji said nonchalantly. He said his goodbye and Gaara hung up angrily.

Gaara did not feel _anything_ for Sakura. It was impossible. He didn't even love his siblings, care maybe, but love? The emotion was a mystery to him.

Shaking his head he opened the car door and drove to the Hyuuga house. Inside a loud commotion was going on. Naruto was yelling about storming Akatasuki headquarters while Neji was telling him that they problem was that they didn't know where it was. Gaara entered silently and sat down at his usual position, at the head of the living room.

"Gaara!" Naruto growled. "Where were you when she got kidnapped!" He was about to leap for Gaara's throat, but Kiba and Neji, in unison, pushed him back roughly. Gaara just say there, unfazed by it all, but Neji, surprisingly, asked the same question.

"I was gone." The redhead answered solemnly. "We had fought." Everyone nodded sympathetically and he felt himself tense up in anger, not sure if they were pitying him or her. The latter was most likely

"Knowing you both, that's understandable." Ino said with a small smile. "But I'm worried. Sakura mentioned something about them putting her in a brothel." She covered her mouth in silent horror and Gaara frowned. No way in hell would he let any man touch her.

"We'll keep watch on all the brothels and alleyways, but I highly doubt they'll do something so stupid so soon." Shikamaru said. "Most likely they're waiting for us to make a move – perhaps for us to storm one of their hideouts. I propose we wait." This cause uproar from the room, no one wanted to put Sakura through the mysterious tortures of Akatsuki.

"Everyone calm down and listen to what little sense Shika-kun has left." Ino growled out, glaring at her friend.

Shikmaru put his hands together and closed his eyes in thought. "They won't hurt her, hopefully, and I know Sakura – she would put up a good fight. They know she knows nothing about us anyways so the worst they could do is kill her, which they won't do anyways." He added before everyone started yelling again. "Why? Because she's they're bargaining chip. They know she's close to us and, if they're smart which they are, they know she's close to Tsunade-sama also." He frowned. "She'll be safe physically; it's just mentally that we need to worry about."

Everyone went silent before Hinata spoke. "Sakura's strong; she'll fight them in whatever game they throw at her." The quiet girl said with enthusiasm. At her words the atmosphere lightened noticeably.

Gaara just sat they until Neji motioned for him to follow. Outside they walked in silence. "You like Sakura-san." The white-eyed man said suddenly.

Gaara was silent, not know exactly _what_ to say. "How do you figure this, Hyuuga?"

Neji smirked. "You've been protecting her for a year now. I _figure_ the only reason you want her to do you a favor is as a secret excuse to talk to her."

Gaara frowned. In a way, a sad way, that was correct. Hearing it out loud sounded pathetic. "You make it sound as if I've been planning for her to get targeted so much."

"I doubt you have. You rarely actually make the favor rule apply anymore so of course I'd become suspicious. I didn't think you'd have a thing for pink-haired women though." Neji said thoughtfully.

Gaara shrugged. "I do not have a _thing_ for anyone. She's just interesting."

"I've never seen you act so close to a woman as you did earlier today in the parking lot." Gaara froze, silently wondering if the Hyuuga could see through walls. Neji chuckled. "She left her wallet in the couch and I was about to return it when I saw you close to her. I felt that I shouldn't intrude on the…moment. It was interesting though. I was worried that my superior only had a thing for hookers." Gaara gave him a pointed look. "You know it's my job to know everything about you."

"I suppose so." Gaara said as they walked back to the large mansion. By now everyone was planning a city-wide search of the Konoha in hopes of finding Akatsuki's main hideout. Shikamaru was pointing out every place it _could_ be at. So far the 'coulds' were at 104.

"It will take at least three more hours to pick out every place and then five to pinpoint the exact place." The genius deduced at last.

Gaara glared at the man. "Shorten it." He ordered. The other man just nodded, mumbling something about 'troublesome'.

This is probably why Gaara never wanted to get close to anyone, especially someone like Sakura. They just get kidnapped…

--

:D

Please review - I **love** hearing everyone's opinions. This was my first time writing in male POV though so please be gentle. :)


	5. Chapter 4

:) Yay, another chapter. This one took me three whole days to figure out what I should actually do for it.

Pretty happy with how it turned out all together.

--

"Hey, Itachi," she started after an hour of silence, "are you guys going to kill me?" She asked with a shaking voice.

Silence. She expected that. "Most likely." She froze at his voice before chuckling humorlessly.

"Thanks for the heads up then."

--

--

Chapter 4

--

**_This sucks._** Her Inner Self said bluntly as Sakura hummed tunelessly. **_It's been an _**_hour** of silence. **_

Sakura shrugged. _Get over it? I'm the one who should be complaining – you aren't blindfolded and bound. I'm just happy I'm not gagged._ She didn't want to add that the thought had probably crossed Itachi's mind in the past hour though.

"Can I please take off this blindfold?" She asked for the twentieth time. He didn't answer. "It's horribly rude to ignore someone." She mumbled under her breath.

"Are you bored?"He asked suddenly, sounding more disinterested than she liked. She nodded hesitantly, unsure of what the man would take of her boredom. "It seems that boredom causes you to lose your inhibitions." He stated as if it was a scientific fact.

Sakura raised an eyebrow underneath her blindfold. "Like alcohol?" She felt the silent 'yes' and continued. "I never thought of it like that, but I'll assure you that I'm actually being very careful right now. Trust me, if I wasn't tied up and blindfolded the situation would be _very_ different." She concluded with a sharp nod, mainly for herself, and a large grin.

"How so?" He asked, surprising her with his reply. It wasn't the fact he spoke (though that was surprising); it was the mild interest that he asked with.

**_He doesn't strike me as the type to take interest in anything…_** Her Inner Self said with irritation. Sakura was having fun, but that didn't stop the fact that they were kidnapped, bound, and blindfolded in **Akatsuki!** Not the best situation to be in…

Sakura thought about her reply, trying her best not to be too much of a smart ass, and smiled wider. "Well, for one, I wouldn't be blindfolded and tied up." She said in a flirty tone of voice, ignoring her Inner Self who was telling her to 'shut the hell up' (Edited, of course, for the blatant fact that Sakura, in general, has a very dirty mouth when put in a situation of danger). "And, two, I would be watching the TV. No offense, but you aren't exactly the…talkative type." She added in mock embarrassment.

She felt, since the fact that, after two hours of no light, _seeing_ was pretty difficult, the blindfold fall off and hissed. Next she felt the rope around her wrist slacken and finally be pulled off roughly, cutting her wrists. "What happened to the whole 'warn me' talk we had?" She asked angrily, eyes closed in an attempt to allow her eyes to adjust.

"I believe I've already stated that you are in no position to be demanding things." He said from behind her.

By now her eyes had adjusted so she turned her head to glare at him. The fact that his eyes were, apparently, set in perpetual glare mode was forgotten and she froze when their eyes met. It was like Gaara all over again, but Sakura knew that she in an even worse situation this time. Even she knew that tamed monsters could break their leashes.

"You should smile once in awhile," she said out-of-the-blue after turning her head to avoid his direct gaze, "it might make you seem friendly."

"You don't seem the type to lie." He said almost as an afterthought.

"I wasn't lying. Most people really do seem nicer when they smile, but I guess that's probably impossible for you." She said with a smirk as she curled into the couch, suddenly tired. He didn't reply and she felt her eyes closing as she slowly fell asleep.

**_Don't you know not to fall asleep in the presence of a monster?_** Her Inner Self chided in between yawns.

_Whatever he does when I'm asleep won't compare to what I'd do when I found out._ Sakura mumbled to herself before falling asleep.

--

"She fell asleep?" A familiar, though she couldn't put a face to it, voice asked, mildly amused. The gruff reply, barely heard in her almost unconscious state, was something close to a yes.

Her eyes fluttered open slowly and she lifted herself up. First thing she saw was a pair of coal black eyes. "Who are you?" She asked groggily, blinking one eye at a time.

"Sasori." He said, looking calm. She recognized the voice. It was the one from earlier, when she was blindfolded with 'Deidara'. He pointed to the open door behind him, "and that's Deidara." The blonde man waved, large smile plastered on his face.

"Ah." She hummed as if it made sense. "Deidara, we meet again." She said with a sheepish giggle. "Where's Itachi? We were having such a wonderful conversation."

Deidara plopped down on the couch next to her while Sasori took a seat on the floor. "Sakura-chan I think you were most likely hallucinating." He touched her forehead lightly. "You're not feverous, yeah…"

She swatted his hand away and pouted, cheek against the cool couch fabric. "I…wanna go home." She groaned.

**_…_**_Now** you want to go home?**_ Her Inner Self yelled, **_what happened to…oh, say about four hours ago!_**

_…I was having fun. Minus the fear, of course. _She said to herself as an afterthought.

"No can do, yeah." Deidara said with a grin. "You're going to sit here and wait for that boyfriend of yours to come and try to whisk you away."

"Boyfriend? Can you tell me his name, number, and address so I can see if I have good tastes?" She asked, feigning innocence. It doesn't take a genius to know that they were talking about…

"You mean that you and the Kazekage aren't hooking up?" Deidara exclaimed, eyes wide.

She huffed. "I have no reason to tell you what goes on between me and Gaara. If you guys are as good as you claim then you should know what I like to eat, who I hang out with, and what goes on with me and Gaara." She stated.

The redhead, Sasori, spoke up before Deidara had a chance to. "We were only told the basics. The underlings watched you; we had better things to do."

She batted her eyes sweetly. "You mean you guys had better things to do than watch lil' ole me?" She teased. "Anyways, what's up with the whole switch-the-guards thing you guys have going on?" She questioned, more alert than before.

Deidara answered. "Pein didn't want us to get too close to you. Apparently you're some sort of seductress that's been able to 'woo' the whole Suna yakuza."

Sakura laughed. "I haven't had time to 'woo' anyone. I've been studying for medical school." She said, with a confused expression. _Me…'woo'?_ She though absentmindedly.

**_Who the hell uses the word 'woo'?_** Her Inner Self said with a giggle.

_Apparently the Yakuza._

"Medical school?" Sasori said, one eye brow up.

"Do I not seem the type?" Sakura shot back, miffed.

The redhead shook his head. "No, it's just not everyday you see a pink-haired doctor."

"Hm…I guess, but my hair has always been pink so I don't notice it too much." She said with a shrug. "Any idea when I'll be leaving this place?" She said with a frown. How many times has she asked this question?

"Not at all, yeah." Deidara said, grinning down at her, "at least you seem less spiteful than earlier. I thought you'd bite my head off if you could see it."

Sakura was silent for a few seconds, thinking. "I might just." She said devilishly. "But not until Gaara gets here." _If he does_, she added silently.

Deidara grinned, about to say something, but a knock on the door stopped him. "Who the hell could it be?" He mumbled before turning to Sasori. "I thought Hidan didn't come for another hour." After Sasori shrugged, the blonde opened the door, revealing a rather…bloody man. Sakura didn't recognize the man and neither did Deidara by his reaction. "Who the fuck are you?"

The man looked up with a sad, in Sakura's opinion, expression as he coughed a few times. He leaned against the door before speaking. "Sand…is here. Pein-sama to-told me to tell you-you two to hide her." He said before fainting. Sakura jumped, instinct telling her to help the poor fellow, but Sasori held her hand.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere, Sakura-san." He said, eyes still calm and lazy.

She huffed. "He needs help. At least let me do that." She pleaded, attempting to pull out of his strong grip. He shook his head while Deidara dragged the body away. "What's your problem?!" She screeched.

Sasori pulled her down, making her fall next to him. "Let me at least check him! Something's wrong and I know enough to-," She gasped, reeling from the smack.

"You have no idea what's going to happen. I suggest you finally get a clue as to where you are. You are in Akatsuki headquarters – not some slumber party." Sasori said while still retaining his calm demeanor. "Now, stand up and follow us." He stood and, with Deidara, began to walk out of the room.

**_Don't follow them! Escape while we have the chance_**. Sakura followed though, repeating Sasori's words over and over in her head while trying to follow them, ignoring the man's body that was laying in a room on her left, foot halfway out the door.

**_What the hell?_** Inner Sakura said when Sakura took a peek inside the room. The man's organs were all around him, a large gash in the middle of his stomach. Sakura knew that he did not have that when she last saw him.

_Deidara?_ Imagining the blonde doing something so…so horrible caused Sakura's eyes to widen and her face to visibly pale. Inner Sakura was in a state of shock, leaving her alone.

"So you saw? Hurry up, yeah, or else you'll get lost." Deidara said, almost sadly, as he pulled on her arm softly.

"That…what did you do?" Sakura croaked out, eyebrows furrowed in an attempt to grasp _what_ or _why_ that man looks like that.

"I ripped out his stomach, yeah." Deidara said with a shrug as they took another turn down the long white hallway. Sakura had no idea where they were going.

"But…why?" She questioned, even more confused by his blatant confession.

The blonde shrugged again. "He's no use to use injured and by the end of the night I have no doubt in my mind that he'd just be a nuisance to us."

Sakura bit her lower lip in thought. _This is too much._ She told herself. It didn't connect in her mind that someone would do…such a thing for such a stupid reason.

Deidara stopped, waiting for her to catch up. "You know," he started, looking away from her, "we're not the only ones who do things like this. You're precious friends aren't exactly innocent either." He finished, hurrying to catch up with Sasori.

--

Yep, obvious change in mood of the story as Sakura changes too :)

Note: I'm thinking there will be about 4 more chapters after this, but there might only be three.

What will happen now that Gaara has shown up?


	6. Chapter 5 & A Special Section

:(

I was really thinking over the decision to put Gaara's POV in this chapter or just make another chapter all together...

I went with just adding it :D

I decided it added a bit more to the chapter...and a surprise!

* * *

Deidara stopped, waiting for her to catch up. "You know," he started, looking away from her, "we're not the only ones who do things like this. You're precious friends aren't exactly innocent either." He finished, hurrying to catch up with Sasori.

--

Gaara hated to wait. He hated waiting even more than he hated annoying people and that said a lot. Having to wait for coffee grated on his nerves, but nothing annoyed him more than having to be told that they couldn't save Sakura for another _hour_.

"Calm down, Gaara." Ino said with a frown. She was just as angry as the redhead, but she had already decided to take out her anger by planning various forms of torture for the Akatsuki. Most involved castration. "Shika-kun said it was precaution. Naruto and Kiba are already there with over a hundred others who work for you. They'll make sure she's safe." Ino wanted to put her arms around the frightening man, but knew that if she wanted to _keep_ her arms then she'd stay where she was.

"So how does that explain why **I** can't be there?" He argued, trying to calm down. Gaara didn't have much self-control and in the past 24 hours his control had been tested too many times to count.

"It doesn't. Shika-kun just wants to make sure he got the right building. Honestly, who knows what you'd do if it turns out that was a decoy?" She stated, crossing her arms as she leaned against the arm of a couch.

Gaara smirked, the blonde's rare intelligence never ceased to surprise him. He told her so.

"And the fact that Sakura is probably interested in you confuses me to no extent." Ino didn't want to add that if Gaara wasn't so infatuated with her best friend then she would never have spoken to her boyfriend's boss (Ino didn't really consider herself much of the 'yakuza' type, more like the 'yakuza's girlfriend') in such a way.

"Interested?" Gaara asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes, interested, it's not hard to read her and I see a whole novel in her expression when I mention your name." Ino said with a giggle.

Gaara was silent, thinking over the news. Ino frowned, wondering what she said wrong and left to call Shikamaru about the operation.

She rushed back in not even a minute later. Gaara had been wondering what a relationship might involve when she told him…

"She's there….and so is-," she didn't finish her statement. Gaara was already out the door, running for his Aston Martin. Ino groaned at his impatience and ran to her own car.

--

Sakura had never believed that her friends were 'innocent' (save for Hinata, that girl was too kind for most evil acts). She had seen Naruto break a random stranger's nose for yelling at Hinata. She had seen Neji arrested for _trying_ to kill his uncle (he later got out on bail, provided by his uncle). Not to mention the fact that she had read Ino's various acts out on paper.

But she was certain none of them had ever killed a man for being a nuisance. Neji might have probably sent the man away, Naruto would have protected him, and Ino would have ignored him, but kill? Even now, an hour later, the image was fresh in her mind. The nameless man's organs, splayed about his body in no pattern.

Sakura was used to death. She had spent numerous hours in the morgue, talking with Tsunade and eating sandwiches on their off-hours when she was a volunteer. This, this random act of murder, shook her.

There was only one other person she could think of that might do something like this. Gaara. His name was like music in her mind, only adding to the image of the dead man's corpse. **_Peaceful_**, her Inner Self said with disgust. Over the last hour she had been silent, only speaking up when Sakura had suddenly thought of the man she had tried to forget about.

**_Oh God, get over yourself. We're not in a position to think about him. How come you never concentrate on the problems at hand?_** She whined.

_Maybe I'm trying to forget about the…problems we're going through. And by the way…_I'm_ going through this. You are safe in my mind_.

**_Yeah? Well it's like a rollercoaster in here. One minute you hate him, then you want to take him in your room and do _**_various** things to him, and then you wish you had never met him. Not mention the fact that just three hours ago you wished to stay and then you wished to leave…now I have no idea what you want to do. Please pick a thought, an emotion even, and stick with it.**_

Sakura frowned and Sasori and Deidara exchanged confused looks. "What's wrong, Sakura-chan?" Deidara asked happily. Over the hour she wore a sullen look, Sasori had told Deidara to watch her in case she tried to kill herself. It had happened three years ago with another girl they had taken from a rival gang…but that's another story all together.

Sakura looked up, and then looked down quickly. "Nothing, just tired." She mumbled. Deidara frowned. It wasn't hard to tell she was upset.

"You can talk to me, Sakura-chan." He said happily. "If it's about that guy over then don't worry. You'll get used to that soon." He shrugged, throwing her a bag of chips. They were in another room, but unlike the other one, this one had a refrigerator, a king sized bed, and a computer.

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. "Get…used to it soon?" She repeated, stumbling over the words.

Deidara grinned, happy she was talking. "Yeah! After we get rid of the Suna gang then you can join us, yeah." He scooted over to her on the couch. "Itachi thinks your interesting, Kisame says you're fun to be around, and Sasori and I like you a lot so I'm sure Leader would approve. Think about it! You'd be Akatsuki, yeah."

"No." Sakura said suddenly, shocking Deidara with her fierceness. "I'm not joining any gang." She mumbled, scooting away from the blonde.

"Why not?" Deidara asked, not unlike a child.

"Because I'm going to become a doctor, that's why. Even after Gaara rescues me I won't join Suna." She said firmly, a bit more like her usual self. Inner Sakura was backing her up, not even bothering to comment that she had _again_ switched moods randomly.

"When Gaara rescues you?" Sasori asked calmly, but Sakura could almost hear a sneer in his monotone voice.

"Yes." She answered, glaring at him. She stood up and walked over to him on the bed. "I have absolutely no doubt that he'll walk through that door," she pointed to the white door with one hand still on her waist, "and rescue me." Just as she finished speaking the door opened…

"What the hell are you doing here, yeah?" Deidara asked, suddenly standing, hand on the gun at his waist.

Sakura twirled around and almost screamed. By now one would have thought she was used to handsome men with ego/glaring problems, but that was false. The man at the doorway looked almost identical to Itachi in all but hair. His hair was a bit darker and stood up in back and his face lacked the calmness of Itachi's. Actually, the man at the door looked very angry.

"Leader said Naruto was getting to close to the girl and he wanted you two out there." The man said in a fluid voice. Sakura would have melted at his voice under any other circumstance. Her Inner Self, obviously tainted by Ino, was telling her to jump the man at once.

Deidara sneered. "You're the one who almost killed me, why don't you go out there, yeah?"

The man looked to Sakura as if he was fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "Maybe he doesn't want me to waste my time. Now leave, before I make you." Deidara _did_ roll his eyes before following Sasori, who was silent through the entire affair, out the door.

The man turned to Sakura and frowned. "Are you Sakura?"

She nodded hesitantly before asking, "Are you here to kill me?" Maybe it the insanity finally kicking in, or the fact that she felt he really was there to kill her that propelled her to ask such an honest question. Either way….

"Yes."

She nodded as a reflex before stretching. "Fine, but make it quick, I don't want to suffer." She grinned at him before sitting on the bed. He took a step forward and closed the door. Sakura stopped breathing as he walked over to her. His hand went to her cheek and she inhaled quickly, shaking softly at his delicate touch.

**_…what is he doing?_** Inner Sakura asked, oddly more conscious that Sakura herself.

Sakura was in no position to speak though as the man before her leaned down slowly, ever so slowly, towards her face. Finally, when he was only a few inches away she asked: "What the hell are you doing?"

Inner Sakura yelled at her, telling her that she was missing out on what probably would have been the best kiss since Gaara (Sakura did tell herself that Gaara's kiss was less than 10 hours ago.).

The man smirked, but she could see secretly he was angry. "You the girl my brother said after all. I thought he was lying when he told me you were…interesting." He said.

Sakura pouted. "Only interesting? And here I thought me and Itachi had such a _wonderful_ time together."

The man seemed shocked. "You…you and Itachi?"

"We talked, what's so bad about that?" She said with a giggle. "What's your name?"

"Why do you need to know? I'm just going to kill you." Sakura resisted the urge to laugh at his expression. He was so…childish. His head was turned away from her and he glared at the wall.

"I just want to know what your name is. It's not fair that you know mine."

"Sasuke."

"Really? That seems…familiar."

"I was part of Suna for a short time." Sakura's eyes widened and she snapped her fingers.

"Ino mentioned you! You must have been there for a short time if she didn't get to meet you. She said you were Naruto's best friend and that he was looking for you. Aren't you…supposed to be training?" Sakura couldn't help it. She was excited at the prospects of meeting someone that even Ino had never met before. The fear made her shake though; the undying anticipation was something she couldn't….shake. ('scuse the pun)

"Hm…she did, did she?" Sasuke played with her hair softly. "Pink?" He mumbled, more to himself than her.

"It's natural, some rare thing. Actually, come to think of it, studying up on my pink hair is what got me into medicine, that and the car accident I saw a while ago." She said absent mindedly, taking her hair from his hands.

**_He's…too close…and not Gaara._**

_Thanks for stating the obvious_**. **Sakura told herself as she scooted back on the bed, trying to get just a bit farther from Sasuke. She wanted to ignore, for the moment, the fact that he wasn't Gaara.

A sudden thought came to mind. "Why did you leave Suna? I know to train, but Gaara and Naruto are strong already."

Sasuke leaned against the bed post. "It wasn't enough. My goal was to kill Itachi, but now we work together."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. "Kill Itachi?"

"Yes, he killed my family." He said it so nonchalantly that Sakura gasped. He smirked at her reaction. "You're not the first to have that reaction."

She frowned. "That's horrible. He didn't seem the type to…" She trailed off, glancing at the blanket on the bed. "Anyways, how long do you think it'll take them to come and get me?"

Sasuke smirked and leaned over to cup her chin. "It won't really matter since you'll be gone."

* * *

:D

Sasuke!

I needed to added him.

And on the fact (because I know someone will ask...) I'll explain about his working with Itachi later...hopefully.

I know it might be a bit of a shocker 'Wow...what's going to happen with Sasuke, Sakura, and Gaara?', but I'll try to work it out.

Oh: Happy Birthday to me :3


	7. Chapter 6

WOW. I haven't update in a while.

Truth be told, I only updated because a few people reviewed and I **LOST MY PHONE**.

It's the end of the world as I know it.

And...P.S. it's an extremely short chapter :D

--

Sakura was in a pickle. **_Are you _**_just **now figuring out he wants to kill you?**_ Inner Sakura asked, rolling her invisible eyes.

_I'm sorry that being so…blunt about death shocks me. _

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, asking himself if his reply had honestly scared her so much. He smirked, leaning in closer to the frozen girl. "I didn't take you for such a weak girl." He whispered.

Sakura stared at him head on for a second before smart-ass smile graced her lips. "If you think I'm weak then you are obviously more screwed up in the head than I originally assumed?" She scooted back on the bed and crossed her legs, placing her hands in her lap. Sasuke watched her actions with interest.

He raised an eyebrow. "How am I screwed up when you're the one chatting away with your kidnappers?"

The question didn't throw her off guard as it would have in the beginning of the night. Instead, she thought of it for a second.

Once she had her answer she shrugged, both to herself and to him. "I guess I was bored, not to mention interested in Akatsuki. It's not every day a girl gets abducted by a group of, I _have_ to say, hot group of guys. But then again, all they're after is my body." She giggled, moving her hands down the sides of her body in a striptease way. "Of course they, you, prefer my body with a big gaping wound in the chest and a big pool of blood around me."

Sasuke smirked. "I can assure you I'd prefer it if your alive."

"Why? Then I wouldn't be _tragically beautiful_." She rolled her eyes before going in a laughing fit, rolling back on the bed before sighing. "I want to go home." She mumbled, letting her long legs dangle off the side of the bed.

Sasuke leaned over, just the smallest hint of seduction in his smoky coal eyes staring into her green ones. By the time she put her hand on his shoulder he was eye even with her, his lean body over hers.

"What are you doing?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed

"I'm going to make you forget about home." Her protests were muffled by his mouth a half-a-second later.

She pushed him off of her and rolled on top of his, hands on the side of his head. "Don't try to distract me." She growled out. Her Inner Self was yelling at her to bitch at him, to let out all of her frustrations on him. Sakura might be mean occasionally, but even she understood that putting the poor man through all of her troubles would be near torture.

He rolled on top of her faster than she thought possible, hurting her back as it hit the bed roughly. "Why not?" He growled. "I haven't had any in a very, very long time and I can guess that you haven't either." Sakura couldn't argue with that. "And it's not like you have anything to lose."

"I could lose Gaara." She mumbled. Her eyes widened slightly at her own words.

Sasuke smirked. "I've heard you say you don't even know anything about him, so let _me_ tell you something. Gaara doesn't know love. He's had many, many girlfriends but none of them lasted more than a week. Not because of the girls themselves, all of them very attractive. No, Gaara just bored of them. Don't think for a second he won't get bored of you after a few weeks."

She frowned. "So? Even that would be a welcomed escape from my past boyfriends. All of them were bookstore workers, pre-med students, or real estate agents – all boring. Gaara is a nice change."

"If you want dangerous then have me."

"No." She said with a small smile. "Don't get me wrong – your hot, sexy beyond all belief, but not Gaara. If I had met you first then there is no way I'd pick Gaara, but at the moment he's all I can think about and I don't see that changing any time soon."

"You've only know him for a few days."

She laughed outright at that. "Not even a few days. I could say something corny like 'It was love a first sight' but I think it's more like 'love at first make-out session'. She would have continued if the sound of of running feet didn't interrupt her. Sasuke frowned at the noise.

"I guess I was wrong." He mumbled. "It seems as if your friends are here after all." She smiled at that, sitting up as he slid off the bed.

"Yay." She said, about to run to the door when Sasuke grabbed her arm and pulled her into him.

"No, not yay," she froze when she felt the cold steel on her back. "I have strict orders to kill you if they made it to the third floor."

Sakura was speechless. "I-I…" The steel left her back and Sasuke turned her to face him.

"But I won't." **_WHAT?_** He smirked at her shocked expression. "At least not yet." Her shocked expression turned into a deadpan. "You're the perfect think to show that idiot Naruto that I'm not the same Sasuke he knew."

They waited in silence for a second before Sakura heard the shuffling and slamming of doors. The unmistakable yell of Naruto rang through the growing clamor of the fight below. It only took a few minutes before their door slammed open, revealing a Naruto she hadn't seen before.

His eyes were a brighter blue and his hair was wild, the ends dyed in blood. The small scars on his face seemed like real whiskers in the light. His teeth looked strangely like fangs. Once he saw her though his expression softened before he caught sight of the man behind her.

"Sasuke." He growled, taking a small step forward, yelling that he'd found them at the same time.

"Naruto." The silent animosity between the two scared Sakura. Naruto had been her friend through highschool and never before had she seen him so visibly upset. What happened next she could only remember a small bit of since the pain over took all of her senses.

The knife went into her left arm, slicing her bicep. A half second later, just as Naruto was registering just what happened, the knife went into her side. Sakura looked down at her shirt and saw the blood pool up. She swore she could even see the tip of the knife before falling down, her face strangely calm as the scream worked its way up to her mouth.

* * *

:O

Oh noes!

Sakura!


	8. Chapter 7

You know what I hate?

Writer's block.

I wrote this chapter 3 times...still not perfect.

--

Surprise character shows up :P

--

It was probably a year since she last cried. Sakura was an emotional person, sure, but crying just wasn't her thing. The last time was when her father had died and that was mainly a cry for her mother's sadness. It wasn't that she didn't care. It was just that she never felt compelled to cry for anything. Even when she broke her arm at the age of 14 she didn't shed a tear.

This was different. Not because of the pain, more of the fact that: _Hell…I've been stabbed_. The scream was the pain worming its way up to her brain. The tears? Those were for her helplessness. Sakura hated more than anything to be useless.

Through misty eyes, she watched as Naruto yelled something at Sasuke. From then on it was just a blur of orange and black. She couldn't even tell just _who_ threw the first punch. Once they left the room, through the hole in the wall that had just suddenly appeared, Sakura allowed herself to sniffle at the pain.

Inner Sakura made it clear that the knife shouldn't stay in her side. That she was being a baby. That she should hurry the 'fuck up'. That she should stab Sasuke.

Sakura mumbled something about 'stabbing you' before reaching behind herself and pulled out the knife. "**God-fucking-damn** that hurts!" She screamed as she weakly threw the knife across the floor and took off her shirt. Ripping it into two strips, she hastily wrapped it around her body, hoping it'd help stop the blood.

**_It would hurt less if you stabbed that bastard_**. Inner Sakura said with a skip-in-her voice. Sakura just rolled her eyes and leaned against the bed, hoping that the pain would stop soon. Yearning for someone to come and comfort her. Wishing…for Gaara.

The tears that came next were even worse, mainly because they were or her loneliness. Inner Sakura didn't say anything though. This only proved to Sakura that she was, indeed, pathetic. Crying over her own want for a man was under Sakura's list of things not to do. Next to killing kittens.

As she sat there, crying, she thought about the past day. By far it had been the most interesting in her lifetime. Not only had she been kidnapped, but she had met some, almost too many, interesting people. One of which stabbed her. Yes, today had been full of many 'firsts' for the pink-haired girl. Hopefully, if she survived, it would also be the first time she was admitted to the hospital.

Of course, to be admitted to the hospital, one must first survive the attack. Sakura doubted that would happen to her as she found her eyes slowly drooping. It only took a few seconds for her to lose consciousness completely.

--~~--

Gaara had never been scared. For him, it just never happened. Even when his uncle tried to kill him. Even when his father tried to kill him. He never felt the urge to save himself, never felt the adrenaline.

But when he saw Sakura, lying in a small pool of her own blood, stained shirt wrapped around her naked torso, black bra barely covering her, he felt a pang of fear. Or an overwhelming **need** to kill her attacker and maybe everyone else in the building. He quickly ran over to her, pushing over Ino who was crying over the sight, and picked up the light female before running out of the building. Past all the fights, even Naruto's fight, without a second glance, he ran all the way to the hospital. Or at least as far as he could…

--~~--

She woke up the next day, alone in the hospital. A pile of pink and white bears, cards, and flowers were next to her bed, all addressed to her and wishing her a speedy recovery. She smiled as she read Naruto's orange card (it stood out) and sighed as she read Ino's…mature comedy card.

It only took a few minutes before a busty blonde walked into the room. Her white jacket was opened, revealing a low, v-neck, blouse and loose black slacks. The blonde eyed Sakura, who was smiling softly, before shaking her head. "You had an interesting day." It was a statement that didn't surprise Sakura.

"You must know," the pink-haired female slowly sat up in her soft hospital bed, making sure not to open her wound, "all about interesting days, Tsunade-sama." It was rude and sarcastic, but Sakura knew the woman had kept a very big secret from her.

Tsunade just smirked before grabbing the chair next to Sakura and sitting down in one fluid motion. "I, at least, never got stabbed. Shot once, but that was just a scratch." Sakura laughed at her mentor before remembering something. "No, don't even ask about _him_. He's locked up now." Sakura's eyes widened. "Don't give me that look. He refused to leave your side even though he was injured. I don't appreciate people bloodying up my hospital floors."

"Injured?" Sakura whispered, shocked. "How bad?" She made a move to stand, but Tsunade glared at her.

"Just a broken wrist and sprained ankle. He would have run all the way here on that dammed ankle. Honestly, he's lucky that his sister saw him running and picked him up." The older woman shook her head, exasperated, before eyeing Sakura. "I don't see why, Sasuke's not stupid enough to actually kill you."

"You know Sasuke?" Sakura asked, breathless. Her face was red from embarrassment.

"I met him outside. He's lucky to be alive. We had to tie Gaara down to stop from attacking him. He's in the ICU with multiple wounds."

"And Naruto?" Sakura was afraid to ask. The blonde had been her friend since middle school. It had been hard enough to find out he keeping such a big secret from her and Sakura wouldn't forgive herself if he had been injured.

Tsunade look away and Sakura felt her chest tighten. "He's in ICU too. A few broken ribs, a broken arm. Sasuke's much worse off."

Sakura felt the weight lift off, but it still wasn't enough. She wanted to see Gaara.

"Don't go. He's in the psychiatric ward." Tsunade warned as Sakura got up to leave. The pink-haired girl turned to Tsunade and flashed her a bright smile, not saying a word, as she left the room.

--

The psyche ward was Sakura's least favorite place to be. Only a few people were admitted to this section of this hospital and it was generally the oddest and scariest people of them all. Sakura couldn't help but think this was the perfect place for Gaara.

Room 215. Probably a number that will forever remind her of Gaara. Opening the door, she saw him, clad in black and red, laying on the hard mattress, staring at the sky.

"I'm not hungry." He growled out, not bothering to look at his visitor. Sakura froze in her spot. Noticing that the door was still open, Gaara looked at his visitor. "Come in." An order.

She obeyed silently, suddenly embarrassed, and leaned against the now closed door. Gaara smirked; a predator's smirk, and stood up to greet his visitor.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay. This place can be pretty scary." Sakura stared at his black sneakers. She expected him to be wearing dress shoes.

She saw his feet move swiftly towards her. Instead of moving away, she just stood there. His good hand touched her face lightly, making her shiver, and his other hand touched her arm. The cast felt weird compared to his other, calloused hand. Looking up, she saw his face hardly three inches from her own. He had a long cut down the side of his cheek and a bruise on his lip. She touched it lightly, ignoring the smirk on his face.

"Ino punched me." Sakura's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "I won't kill her. She was just frustrated at your condition and Sasuke was being hidden from us." She laughed, but Gaara was still serious. "I thought you were dead."

"I can't die that easily." She said coyly, ducking underneath his arm to sit on his bed. "I just came to see if you were okay and now that I know you are, I want to talk about this…favor." She watched as he went to lean against the wall opposite of her. He put little weight on his left foot.

"I haven't thought about it." He said honestly.

"Hmm…I give you till next week to think about it. I think that I shouldn't have to do anything for you since I was kidnapped, but I'm going to be generous." He smirked and didn't reply. Instead, he just watched as she walked out of the room, enjoying the nice view of her pink panties. Obviously she didn't notice that they had put her in a hospital gown.

* * *

I hate hospital gowns too :D

Gaara talks alot in this chapter.

Sakura is weird, I know, but I think getting stabbed can change a person.

Sasuke got pwnd.

--

:D

Next chapter might JUST BE THE END everybody.

This will probably be the best ending I have ever created

or it will be crap.

Hopefully, the first.

:D


	9. Chapter 8 & Epilogue

--

Sakura had no time to wonder about Gaara's favor. As soon as she was able to leave the hospital, school had started. Between studying medicine, volunteering in the hospital, and trying to convince the police that none of her friends had stabbed her, Sakura's life was hectic and it had been a month before she had even talked to Ino. And when she did, it was over the phone.

"I can't believe Naruto wanted to let Sasuke off the hook like that!" Ino growled over the phone. Sakura smiled as she heard the angry blonde's fingers tap away on her keyboard.

"Well, he was his best friend and he was kind-of…crazy at the time." Sakura mumbled, reading a ten-pound textbook on endocrinology. She was lying on her side, trying to put as little pressure on her wound as possible. Even though it was healed, Sakura refused to do anything that would put her back into the hospital.

"But he _stabbed you!_ He's lucky Gaara-san didn't kill him." Sakura shuddered at the name, a smile on her face.

"Oh, yeah, I heard you punched him. He was pretty calm about it." Sakura said nonchalantly, trying to retain all of the information while talk to the blonde.

Ino was silent for a while; even the sound of her tapping away had disappeared. Sakura hesitantly asked if she was still there when Ino screamed. "Oh, my, god, perfect idea!" Sakura groaned. Ino's ideas generally ended in pain, mainly for the pink-haired female.

"Please don't tell me you're going to try and fight Gaara. One punch was already too much."

"Psh," the blonde scoffed, tapping away furiously, "I have another _book_ idea, but it needs one thing." The sly innuendo wasn't lost on Sakura who immediately sighed.

"While I know I'm not going to like this: what's the idea?" Sakura rolled her eyes as she continued to read. She opened a book titled "DNA and You!" and began to skim both books.

The grin on the blonde's face practically emanated across the phone lines. "It'll be a best seller based on you and Gaara!" She squealed, her typing (already a speed well above Sakura's 200 wpm) sped up to record speeds as she talked. "It'll be about a girl whose name will be…I'd probably make it "Blossom" or "Cherry", but I don't want to sound _too_ cliché, so she'll be name..Sakuran." The pink-haired girl blanched at the name, but ultimately decided it was much better than 'Cherry'. "And she'll meet a man named…Subaku." Sakura almost stopped listening, but what Ino said next caught her attention. "And it'll be practically love or _lust_ at first sight!"

"I'm not in love with Gaara." Sakura stated stiffly, books completely ignored.

"Yeah yeah," Ino said and Sakura pictured the girl brushing her off, "you might not love him yet, but trust me when I say I see chem-is-try." She sang the last words.

"You failed chemistry and therefore wouldn't know it if you saw it." Sakura said blankly, mind trying to overcome the news her friend was throwing in her face. Chemistry? Psh. Sakura was a chemistry major and she saw no such thing.

Ino scoffed. "But I passed Romance 101 with an A plus so there. When I say I see chemistry it means those people _will_ end up in bed at some point making hot, passionate monkey -,"

"I get the picture, sadly." Sakura cut in. Inner Sakura was having a field day creating various…images of certain acts with Gaara that Sakura would rather not see.

Ino's grin widened. "Yes, imagine you and Gaara in a large, king-sized bed with black silk sheets. His hot mouth trailing kisses lower…and lower…and lower as you writhe, handcuffed with silk scarves. Your body, rising to meet his quicker so you can-,"

"Really, stop." Sakura ordered, putting her hot face in her hands. More than just images plagued her mind; an entire video seemed to be on loop.

"Fine, but you have to hear the rest of my plot." Sakura consented. "So, they, you two, meet and end up having a crush on each other, but there's a problem that the girl, 'Sakuran', has to overcome: Her new 'friend' is a Yakuza Boss."

"Shocker," Sakura mumbled.

Ino ignored her friend's cynicism. "After a few events, probably some serious soul searching and perhaps a make-out session or two, Sakuran relents and gets over the fact that he's killed people. Just as their relationship seems to be going well, though, a rival Yakuza group kidnaps her!" Sakura sighs as Ino overdramatically gasps as if it were the most shocking thing to happen. "Sakuran is fine while she's kidnapped though. Except for the fact that the Yakuzas are much more different than she thought they'd be and she even felt attracted to some of them." This hit too close to home for Sakura and she found herself cringing.

"Finally Sakuran finds herself with someone she knows by association. Her lover's ex-friend. He says that he wants revenge on Subaku and figures that having sex with her would crush the man. Of course, Sakuran doesn't believe it, but there is no way she'll go through with it. Luckily, Subaku saves her in the nick of time, beats his rival up, and they have sex on the bed that was in the room." Ino finishes in a gasp, having said it all in practically one breath.

"Sounds…horrible." Sakura stated, but even she couldn't deny the fact that she had listened intently to the entire story.

"You're just mad that it's relatively close to your own story." Ino said angrily. "But, like I said, there is one problem with my _perfect_ story."

"If it's so perfect then there wouldn't be a problem."

"Shut up." Ino sang. "It's _nearly perfect_, happy? And before you ask: The problem is what should the favor be?" Ino asked.

"Favor?"

"Yeah. You of all people should know what happens when a yakuza boss saves you." Ino said with a roll of her eyes. "I was thinking something sexy, like strip, but I want him to be at least semi-classy. Then I thought of various other acts she could do, but they all became warped into some sleazy book and Yamanaka Ino doesn't write sleaze."

This realization was what brought Sakura back to her issue: What would Gaara's favor be? It was then that she received the fated call…

"Oh, hold on, an unknown number is calling me." Sakura said as she stared at the blocked number.

"If it's a telemarketer tell them that they ruined a perfect conversation." Ino grumbled as she typed away.

Sakura laughed as she clicked "Talk". "Hello?" She asked warily. You never know who owns a phone these days. Some psychopathic killer could be calling you asking if you checked the children.

Well…she was half right.

"Hello." The deep voice replied. She shivered as she realized who it was.

"Oh, Gaara-san." She said, feeling her hot face with the back of her hand. Hearing his voice brought back all of her memories from Ino's conversation and there were certain images she really would rather _not_ see while talking to him.

"Come to my home immediately. Ino will tell you where it is." And he hung up. Sakura frowned as she pressed Talk again to speak to Ino.

"Where does Gaara live?" The flustered pink-haired girl stuttered as nonchalantly as possible.

"Why?" Ino asked, a sly grin forming on her face.

Sakura almost wished she had asked Hinata instead. Scratch that…she _really _wished she had asked the quiet, shy girl instead. "I don't know, he told me to just go there." Sakura said.

**_He wants to get busy._** Inner Sakura said with a cackle.

_Who says 'get busy'? Are you stuck forever in the 90s?_ Sakura replied angrily. She couldn't help the thought that maybe the redhead would want to…to…

"He lives near the Hyuuga's, here," Ino proceeded to give Sakura the directions. It was fairly close to her own home so, making sure to hang up with an 'I'm not going to be a character in your book' lecture, she left as soon as she could.

The home was not what she expected. It was only a little bigger than her and most likely one-third the size of the Hyuuga Mansion. The only sign that he was much richer than he appeared was the gate, stone walls, and security system. She slowly drove her car into the parking lot, surrounded by more expensive cars than she could name, and walked up to the door.

The home itself was only two stories. The outside was stone with a large front door and many windows. The garden was virtually empty except for the grass and a tree that Sakura bet had been there before Gaara had moved. Hesitantly, she rang the doorbell.

The large door opened to reveal a wet Gaara. His hair hung in his eyes, water occasionally dripping onto his nose. His jade eyes stared at her emotionlessly and Sakura felt the urge to bolt, run away as fast as possible. He looked scarier than she had probably ever seen him, but that didn't stop her from walking into his home.

She surveyed his quaint home. Practically empty, it contained a television, a coffee table, one couch, a lounge chair, and a white rug that was probably a gift from Neji or Hinata. "You don't spend much time here, do you?" She asked, giggling as he raised an eyebrow. "Thought so."

He ignored her odd self-talk and sat down on the lounge chair. He propped his long legs on the table and visibly relaxed. His cold eyes even closed. Sakura, confused, sat down on the couch and stared at the man in front of her. He looked calm in the light, almost heavenly.

"You know why you're here?" He asked, voice as emotionless as she believed possible.

She bit her lower lip, tasting the cherry lipgloss she had applied in the car. "The favor?" She asked, honestly hoping that wasn't the cause. While she might have been brave in the hospital, her demeanor had changed. He wasn't locked up here. There were no security guards nearby, at least none that would help her.

"Yes." His voice echoed in the stillness and Sakura suddenly found it hard to breathe.

"H-have you figured out what you want me to do?" She asked, voice cracking. She probably would have laughed in any other situation.

He was silent again. Finally… "After much deliberation and council, I have come up with an idea." Sakura swallowed hard, feeling like her mouth was suddenly dry, but Gaara didn't divulge.

"And the idea?" She asked hoarsely, honestly worried.

His eyes opened and a slow smirk formed on his face at her question. Sakura froze, getting the familiar feeling that she was just a prey to him; something for him to eat. His eyes scanned her petrified form and Sakura irrationally wished she had worn cuter clothes. She was only in her 'college outfit' of sweatpants and a tank top. Inner Sakura brought up the fact that the last time she had worn sweatpants in front of the man she ended up kidnapped.

"Kiss me." Simple. Sakura's mind couldn't grasp the order.

"Kiss you?" She asked, eyes wide in shock. Her body had moved on its own to face him fully.

His only answer was a simple nod. That word again…simple.

"And you were counseled for this favor?" She asked, dumbstruck. The thought of Neji telling Gaara that a kiss would make a good favor was ridiculous and most of the others, mainly Ino, would tell him to ask of something much worse. Or better, depending on the point of views…

"Not exactly." He mumbled, seemingly ashamed. Sakura held back the giggle that grew in her throat at his expression.

"Why a kiss though?" She asked, leaning back into the couch.

He stared at her for a second and took in her questioning look. It was more innocence than anything else. Even the subtle, unspoken question: "Why me?" was innocent in his opinion. "It'll be interesting."

Sakura made a noncommittal noise. "If it's so interesting than get it from someone else." She stated with a shrug, making a move to leave. Gaara's hand grabbed hers and he pulled her close to him, still not moving from his spot on the chair.

"It has to be you." He growled out, almost angrily. Sakura didn't bother to hide her shock and Gaara chastised himself for his blatant mistake. "I need to know something and this will tell me." He said in a pathetic attempt to explain his odd behavior.

Sakura frowned. Inner Sakura was throwing various explanations as to what he probably wanted to know, but Sakura chose to tune her out. She pursed her lips in an attempt to help her brain function correctly. All answers pointed to: Kiss the damn man already.

She hesitantly stood up, already a foot away from him anyway, and sat down on him. He watched her slow movements with a blank face, but Sakura could tell he was amused. Her legs dangled off his and her arms wrapped loosely around his neck. She looked up and saw something she had never seen before. Touching it lightly brought forth a growl of disapproval from Gaara.

"Love?" She asked, smile playing on her lips.

"Something from my past." He said lowly, staring into her eyes.

Sakura grinned, happy the mood was lightened a bit as she brought his head closer to hers. It hadn't been their first kiss, but it was probably the quickest. As soon as their lips touched she jumped off of his lap and returned to the couch.

"You never said how long the kiss had to be." She said with a wink as she walked to the door. As soon as her hand touched the doorknob she felt her body roughly thrown back. She never hit the ground since Gaara immediately lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder. He began to walk silently up the stairs.

"What are you doing!?" Sakura yelled in between laughs.

"That was hardly a satisfactory favor and I plan to make you work until I feel like you've paid me back." Sakura's face turned red as his message went through.

"_What?!_"

--

"So, how was the favor?" Ino asked as she took a drink from her martini. The blonde's boyfriend rolled his eyes before closing them completely, obviously hoping to get a nap in before he had to drag his drunk girlfriend home.

Sakura kept her face as calm as possible. The group was loitering in the Hyuuga's living room as Gaara, Neji, and Naruto had a conference in another room. It had been only a day since Sakura had completed her 'favor'. She ended up staying the night and morning in his house before being forced to go to Hinata's home. There she showered and borrowed the shy girl's clothes. "Not telling." She said coyly, blush forming on her cheeks.

"Oh my god you guys had sex!" Ino yelled, hand to her mouth. The entire room turned to stare at the girls, even Temari and Kankuro who had just met Sakura an hour earlier.

"Shut the fuck up, Ino!" Sakura said with a playful push that ended up too strong for the _slightly_ tipsy novelist. She ended up falling off of her position on the arm of the sofa and fell on the ground. Everyone once again turned to stare at the two females, some with knowing smirks and others with hushed gossip.

"Not my fault you can't hide your nightly activities." Ino said with a smirk as she sat down on the couch next to Sakura.

"Not just nightly." Sakura said with a larger smirk. The blonde choked on her alcohol and ended up with some of it on her purple dress.

"Tell me more!" She begged. "I'm running on a dry streak right now and need some ideas."

Sakura shot a glance at Shikamaru who was busy trying to hide his confusion behind closed eyes. "I thought you and Shika-kun were…fine." Sakura mumbled awkwardly.

"OH! Of course!" Ino said loudly. "I haven't produced a book in a while so my publisher is getting cranky though."

Sakura had no time to think about Ino's work problems because the three men they had been waiting on suddenly appeared. Gaara immediately went to her side while Neji and Naruto went to Hinata.

"And the verdict?" Sakura asked in hushed tones. The couple turned from the crowd of friends.

"They're fine with you joining." Gaara said, face stone-like. Sakura smiled before hugging her boyfriend.

"And you?" They had talked briefly about his opinion on her joining his yakuza. She was interested in the idea of dressing like a traditional Yakuza female, chest bandaged, dragon tattoos, yukata half on, half off, and one hand on a knife. Gaara had been a bit more cautious and made sure to bring up the dangers of being part of Suna.

"If it'll make you happy." Was all he said in reply. Sakura took it that he was fine with her joining. "But you have to finish school before we'll let you do anything." He said harshly, eyeing her eager expression warily.

She smiled up at him before placing a kiss lightly on his lips. "Fine." But even with her 'promise' both knew that would most likely disobey him more than once.

--

The last part was more of an epilogue.

I hope everyone enjoyed "The Favor"!!!

I really liked writing the GaaraxSakura part near the end. It's really fun making Sakura worried and Gaara evil :3

Please give me feedback since this is the _last_ chapter!

:D

G'bye everyone!


End file.
